I knew it was embarassing to cry in front of people, especially the people who teased me. Showing emotion to them meant I was weak and I was vulnerable. But I just couldn't help it. It hurt too much this time and I didn't have enough strength to make it to my room. So there I sat, on the floor of a hallway in Wammy's orphanage, crying miserably as two girls stood above me, saying mean things to me.

"You're such a freak!"

"Yeah. Why do you like playing with boy's toys? Are you a boy?"

"And you're just ugly!"

I had always been told, by my mom and L and Roger, that when other people said mean things about you, it was because they were jealous. That or they were so uncomfortable with themselves that they took it out on other people.

A few other kids that started climbing the stairs stopped and watched as the girls continued taunting me. One of the girls suddenly pulled my hair, forcing a whimper out of my lips.

"Look at her hair color. It's so bland and icky!"

"Rachel, Anna." The girls stopped and stepped away from me as the rest of the kids watched in interest. I looked up to see a blonde boy walking closer to me, one hand in his pocket while the other held a chocolate bar, bite marks in one of the exposed corners.

"Hi Mello," Rachel said, a goofy grin on her face. Anna was also smiling but not as much, knowing her best friend had already called dibs on the boy. Of course, it was a rule between girls that you would never go for a guy that had the attention of your higher ups. Anna was just being a good girl and following that rule.

"What're you doing?" Mello asked nonchalantly, taking another bite of chocolate, his eyes lingering over me. I wiped my eyes, sniffing as I stayed situated on the floor, not daring to move.

"We were just talking," Rachel responded as if it was that obvious and not such a big deal. Anna nodded furiously behind her.

"When did pulling someone's hair turn into talking?" Rachel and Anna gaped at him. Suddenly, Rachel's eyes darted to me, glaring hard. I didn't flinch but looked down at the floor, wishing I could disappear or just run away.

"Well, she deserved it!"

"Yeah. We were gonna invite her to play with us but she was too busy messing with a dart gun."

"Seriously, Mello. Girls don't play with guns. They're dangerous and only boys play with them." I opened my eyes, feeling a new set of tears coming. Before I could hear another word or get involved anymore, I sprung up and darted past all the kids, down the stairs, past a bewildered Roger and out into the pouring rain. I ran far that I almost reached a wooded area behind the orphanage that was strictly off limits to us. Out of breath and tired, I slumped to the ground, laying in the wet and muddy grass, just breathing.

"Mommy," I whispered, clutching a handful of grass, "I wish you were here. I hate it here. I wanna go home and live with you and daddy." Lightning flashed through the sky before a low rumble of thunder sounded in the sky. I squeezed my eyes shut, wondering why I decided to run outside when there was a thunder storm. I hated thunder storms. I just-

"Damn!" My eyes snapped open and I rolled over onto my stomach to see Mello, hands on his knees as he hunched over and took in deep breaths. He was soaked from the rain that was still coming down but that didn't seem to faze him as he picked his head up to stare at me.

"Why're you here?" I asked, standing up and walking towards him, holding my hands close to my chest. I had a feeling that I should at least reach out and see if he was okay but part of me was scared to even try and make contact with him.

"Damn, you run fast," Mello panted out, standing up straight before plopping down onto the ground, laying spread eagle in the wet grass and mud. I stared, wide eyed as he just laid there, still taking in deep breaths, his eyes closed as the rain pelted against his face.

"What do you want, Mello?" I asked, sitting down close to him and watching him. It was odd. I had seen Mello around the orphanage and also heard him. He played soccer outside on nice days and after he finished taking tests, he always managed to complain about his test score being lower than Near's. We had never actually interacted, though. Actually, I had never really interacted with any of the kids in the orphanage. I just couldn't find them to be good friends or even acquaintences. So, I stuck to myself.

Mello took in a deep breath before sitting up, looking at me with interest, "I came to check if you were okay. I mean, you did run out into a thunder storm." And just as he finished saying that, a streak of lightning lit up the sky and a loud rumble of thunder sounded across the sky. I jumped and curled into a ball, whimpering and praying that the storm would just end. The rain I could handle but everything else scared me to death.

Instantly, someone wrapped their arms around my body, pulling me into warmth. My eyes snapped open and I stared up at Mello who was looking down at me in wonder and worry. My hands which had been pressed into my body suddenly gripped onto Mello's soaked shirt as I pressed my face into his body.

"What's wrong with you?" Mello asked, holding me even tighter as I started to shake. My body was getting cold as what little warmth he had stored mixed with the cold rain that continued to pelt down on us.

"I don't like thunder storms," I squeaked out, opening my eyes only to see another flash of lightning. My eyes quickly shut again as I whimpered.

Mello let out a low chuckle, which made my heart sink a little. Once again, I had let some of my emotion slip. "So why did you run out into a thunderstorm?"

I opened my eyes and looked up at Mello, anger building up in me. He was teasing me, just like Rachel and Anna. I began pushing away from him, trying to get some distance between us. He caught onto that and let his arms unwind from my body as I pulled away from him, a glare situated on my face. Automatically, he sent a glare back.

"Why're you glaring at me? I was trying to help you," he said, a growl in his throat.

"You were laughing at me because I'm weak," I said, tears pricking my eyes as I stared at the one person, besides Roger, who at least tried to make some sort of contact with me.

Mello's glare died immediately into confusion as he pulled a small piece of chocolate from his pocket. He turned his gaze away from me, looking at the ground as he unwrapped the chocolate. He took a bite and chewed slowly, messing with a blade of grass. "You thought I was making fun of you?"

"Why else would you laugh?" I asked, wiping my eyes. The rain had started to die down a bit, coming down in a sprinkle. I was soaked and muddy but at the moment, I really didn't care.

Mello looked up at me, holding out the other half of the chocolate bar he had. "Because you're cute. I think it's funny how cute you are." He had said it like it was nothing. But I did manage to see the slight blush that was on his cheek as he still held the chocolate. I cautiously took the other half and bit off a little piece as Mello watched me.

"You think I'm cute?"

His eyes widened as a visible blush covered his cheeks before he looked down at the ground again, pulling out a blade of grass. "Yeah," he mumbled.

"Are you joking with me, again?" I quickly shoved the chocolate into my mouth and then stood up, staring at him. Mello looked up in shock before he stood up, a confident look on his face. He stared hard at me before unknotting his eyebrows.

"I'm not joking. You're…different than the other kids." I felt my stomach drop as he said that. Great, another person who thought I was different. "I like it."

Our gazes met, his blue eyes connecting with my dull hazel eyes. I could see, him still scrutinizing me but in a good way. I wasn't being judged…just figured out, like a puzzle. I couldn't help but do the same. Mello was different, like me. He hung out with the other kids but he never actually seemed to really interact with them.

The rain had officially turned into a mist like state but there was still slight traces of lightning. I was the first to break the stare we had by looking down at my hands. But another hand reached out and grabbed a hold of one of mine, the warm skin comforting my body. I looked up to Mello, seeing him look at both my eyes before he looked down at our hands.

"We should go inside. You're gonna catch a cold." I nodded, applying some pressure to his hand so that I wasn't slacking anymore. Without another glance, Mello pulled me back towards the orphanage where Roger was running out with an umbrella. He looked in a state of fright but calmed down as he spotted Mello and I together.

"Aly, you scared us, dear. Please, don't run out into a storm like that again," he said, holding the umbrella over Mello and I. "And thank you, Mello, for going to find her." Mello scoffed and stuffed his free hand into his pocket. He didn't let go of my hand, though. In fact, he squeezed it a little tighter as Roger led us into the house. A few of the kids stared at Mello in confusion as we walked upstairs, our clothes dripping water onto the floor.

We got up to the floor where my room was at first and Mello walked me all the way to my room. I was one of the lucky ones that had a room to myself.

"Don't run off like that again, okay? I probably won't be there next time if there's a thunderstorm." I blushed as he said that, wondering why in the first place I did that. He then squeezed my hand one last time before he let go and walked to his room, his sneakers squeaking with water. I giggled quietly before walking into my room, happy that my room was nice and toasty. The chocolate that was left in my mouth suddenly tasted like hot chocolate and I couldn't help but smile. It felt warm and familiar. Just like when I would pick up a gun and hit my target dead center.